Saturday, March 31, 2012

House VA Committee HearingsThe House Veterans' Affairs Committee had a busy week of hearings. On Wednesday, the committee heard testimony regarding the status of four major construction projects and various medical facility leases across the country. Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-FL) and several other members from Florida districts spent most of the hearing questioning witnesses about serious problems at the Orlando VA Medical center site. According to representatives from the construction company under contract, ongoing problems with the design, procurement of medical equipment, and numerous change orders have delayed the project and increased costs. The medical facility is now expected to open in the fall of 2013 instead of summer 2012. Other projects discussed included Las Vegas, Denver and New Orleans with estimated costs to complete at around $3 billion dollars.

On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity (EO) also held a hearing to reevaluate the transition process for service members. The focus of the hearing was on the implementation of the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), a joint VA/DOD examination and records integration and the Federal Recovery Coordinator (FRC) program. The joint evaluation system was put in place in 2007 to better assist recovering service members and their families transition from active-duty to VA. Former commission members, DOD and VA officials and several VSO representatives testified on the programs. The VSO experts agreed that more transparency and consistency is needed to eliminate confusion for service members and to clarify the process between the two departments.

Later on Wednesday, the EO Subcommittee also cleared several VFW-supported bills. The bills included, H.R. 3670, legislation that VFW was instrumental in getting introduced which closes a long overdue loophole in rehiring compliance within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and H.R. 4051, the TAP Modernization Act of 2012, which will authorize a pilot program to offer off-base TAP to communities where veterans have been hit hard by the economy. Read about VFW's testimony in support of the bills. For more information on any of the hearings or to view the recorded webcasts, visit the House VA Committee website.

VFW Testifies on Pending LegislationOn Thursday, the VFW testified on a series of bills before the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. One bill, the American Heroes COLA Act would permanently tie the annual cost-of-living increase for veterans and their survivors receiving disability compensation from VA to social security. Currently Congress must pass legislation annually authorizing the increase to enable veterans to receive the same percentages provided to social security recipients. Other VFW-supported bills included H.R. 4168, legislation that gives the authority to properly care and maintain Clark Cemetery in the Philippines back to the U.S. government, and H.R. 2051, which directs VA to work with the Missing in America Project and other organizations in locating remains of veterans eligible for burial in a national cemetery. Click here to learn more about the hearing and watch a live webcast. Read VFW's testimony.

Senate Committee Discusses Military Personnel and TRICAREOn Wednesday, the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel held a hearing to discuss issues with the DoD budget as part of their work to craft this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Jo Ann Rooney, the acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, outlined four areas the DoD is working to reduce the "unsustainable" cost growth in the Military Health System. They include a focus on prevention and overall health, garnering internal efficiencies, reform of the contracts with providers in the TRICARE networks, and increasing costs to beneficiaries. The VFW believes that the proposals from DoD amount to an unacceptable shift in costs that would only increase over time due to several factors, including proposed indexing of future cost increases to civilian medical inflation. We ask you to reach out to your members in the House and Senate to remind them of the many options that exist to reduce overall cost, and stress that those who serve in the military are not a revenue stream for DoD. Read our alert on the Defense Budget and Tricare.

Senate Kicks Off "I Hire Veterans" CampaignVFW attended the Senate Veterans' Job Caucus kick-off of the "I Hire Veterans" campaign. The initiative encourages members of the Senate and public to display a simple logo (download here) in their offices and businesses to show their commitment to hiring veterans. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), along with 29 others, has joined the caucus to promote putting service members back to work. The caucus, which launched in February, brings leaders together in an effort to fight the high unemployment among veterans. Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis, expressed her support for the initiative and reminded business leaders that veterans bring unique skills, leadership and experience to the table.

Congress on Spring RecessMembers of Congress will be in their home states/districts next week. Now is a great time to set up an appointment to discuss the VFW Legislative Priority Goals and urge them to support a budget that takes care of veterans and our active duty military, guard and reserve members and their families. VFW has been in the forefront of the Tricare and Military Retirement issue and asks you to join with us in defeating any proposals that may be harmful to veterans and our military. Check out VFW's talking points on our "Join the Fight" campaign and get a complete listing of our Legislative Priority Goals. Remember, you have influence with your elected officials. Use it. We cannot win the fight without your help and advocacy!

Korean War MIA IdentifiedThe Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced the identification of remains belonging to Army Sgt. William E. Brashear, 24, of Owensboro, Ky. In November 1950, Brashear of Company B, 70th Tank Battalion and almost 600 other 8th Cavalry Regiment soldiers were killed in action during a battle south of Unsan, North Korea. Their bodies were not recoverable at the time and were later buried by enemy forces. Read more.

The Easter Offensive, and also (Chiến dịch Xuân hè 1972 in Vietnamese) was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN, the regular army of South Vietnam) and the United States military between 30 March and 22 October 1972, during the Vietnam War.[8] This conventional invasion (the largest offensive operation since 300,000 Chinese volunteers had crossed the Yalu River into North Korea during the Korean War) was a radical departure from previous North Vietnamese offensives. The offensive was not designed to win the war outright, but North Vietnam aimed to gain as much territory and destroy as many units of the ARVN as possible, to improve the North's negotiating position as the Paris Peace Accords drew toward a conclusion.

The US high command had been expecting an attack in 1972, but the size and ferocity of the assault caught the defenders off balance because the attackers struck on three fronts simultaneously with the bulk of the North Vietnamese army. This first attempt by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to invade the south since the Tet Offensive of 1968 became characterized by conventional infantry/armor assaults backed by heavy artillery, with both sides fielding the latest in technological advances in weapons systems.

In the I Corps Tactical Zone, North Vietnamese forces overran South Vietnamese defensive positions in a month-long battle and captured Quảng Trị city before moving south in an attempt to seize Huế. PAVN similarly eliminated frontier defense forces in II Corps and advanced to seize the provincial capital of Kon Tum, which would have opened the way to the sea, splitting South Vietnam in two. Northeast of Saigon in III Corps, the communists overran Loc Ninh and advanced to assault the capital of Binh Long Province at An Loc. The campaign can be divided into three distinct phases: April was a month of communist advances; May became a period of equilibrium; in June and July the South Vietnamese forces counterattacked, culminating in the recapture of Quảng Trị City in September.

On all three fronts of the offensive, initial North Vietnamese successes were hampered by high casualties, inept tactics, and the increasing application of U.S. and South Vietnamese air power. One result of the offensive was the launching of Operation Linebacker II, the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam by the U.S. since November 1968. Although South Vietnamese forces withstood their greatest trial thus far in the conflict, the North Vietnamese accomplished two important goals: they had gained valuable territory within South Vietnam from which to launch future offensives, and they had obtained a better bargaining position at the peace negotiations being conducted in Paris.

Friday, March 30, 2012

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2012 - Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki offered assurances that VA will make good on its promises to veterans and those currently serving in uniform, despite growth in demand for its services and benefits and federal belt-tightening initiatives.

Shinseki sat with American Forces Press Service during the 26th annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic this week in Snowmass Village, Colo., to discuss VA's $140.3 billion budget request for fiscal 2013 and what it means for those who serve or have served in uniform.

With a 4.5 percent increase in discretionary funding over fiscal 2012 funding levels, Shinseki said it sends a clear message to the nation's 22 million living veterans. "The nation honors and appreciates their service," he said. "It has not forgotten and will not forget."

The funding increases will go primarily toward medical care, disability pay and pensions, jobs and educational and training programs. They also will help build momentum in three priority areas Shinseki has identified: increasing access to care, benefits and services; eliminating the disability claims backlog; and ending veterans' homelessness.

Shinseki said the budget request -- up from $99.9 billion when he arrived at VA in 2009 -- was an easy sell to President Barack Obama, who he said has been a staunch advocate of veterans.

"He gets it, both that sense of obligation, and a responsibility to ensure that these men and women we have sent off to do the nation's business have an opportunity to get back to some kind of normalcy in their lives, and that VA is responsible for carrying that load," Shinseki said of the President's support for veterans.

The VA's workload is anticipated to grow, Shinseki said, with an estimated 1 million service members expected to leave the military during the next five years. And based on the experience of 1.4 million veterans of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan who have left the military as of September, he said the newest veterans will be twice as likely as those from previous generations to take advantage of VA services and benefits.

Shinseki noted that 67 percent of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to VA for services or benefits ranging from health care to insurance, home mortgages and Post-9/11 G.I. Bill education. That's a far-higher percentage than for previous generations, he said, noting that roughly 8.8 million, or about one-third of all 22 million living U.S. veterans, are enrolled with the VA.

"So looking down the road, that percentage is going to be pretty significant," he said.

In some respects, VA has become a victim of its own successes and what Shinseki called a "very aggressive" outreach effort to encourage veterans to take advantage of VA programs. "In the last three years, we have pushed very hard to get the message out," he said. It's been a two-prong effort, he added, to educate new veterans, and to "reach out to those who may have tried us and been disappointed in the past to say, 'This is a new VA. Give us another try.'"

The message has clearly resonated, with about 800,000 new veterans enrolling with VA over the past three years and beginning to take advantage of its services.

"As a result, we have been able to present what I think is a good argument for why VA's budget needed to be reinforced, Shinseki said.

The VA budget request includes $52.7 billion for medical care, up 4.1 percent. VA officials estimate that 6.3 million veterans will use its health care services, including about 610,000 veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The request includes $6.2 billion for mental-health, up 5.3 percent from current levels. VA will use the additional funding to conduct more outreach and screenings, better address post-traumatic stress disorder and enhance programs that reduce the stigma of seeking mental-health care, officials said.

The budget also will fund expanded gender-specific care for women veterans and medical research focusing on traumatic brain injury, suicide prevention, PTSD and other needs, officials reported.

New funding in the 2013 budget request, officials said, will help veterans prepare for and secure jobs, building on a national program that includes tax credits for employers, corporate hiring pledges, job fairs and other initiatives.

The budget request will cover Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits for an estimated 606,000 service members, veterans and family members during fiscal 2013, officials said. A separate funding increase of $9 million would expand the "VetSuccess on Campus" program from 28 college campuses to 80 to provide outreach and supportive services for about 80,000 veterans transitioning from the military to college.

Meanwhile, VA's vocational rehabilitation and employment program will expand services to wounded, ill and injured service members to ease their transition to civilian life, officials said. Program participants are expected to increase from 108,000 in fiscal 2011 to 130,000 next fiscal year.

The budget request proposes $1 billion over five years for a Veterans Job Corp. This effort, projected to put 20,000 veterans to work, would leverage military-acquired skills for jobs protecting and rebuilding U.S. public lands.

Shinseki said VA and the Defense Department are collaborating better than ever before to ensure a smoother transition from the military to VA-assisted ranks.

A task force that blends both departments' expertise is exploring ways to improve transition assistance programs and weave health care, employment, education and entrepreneurship offerings into them. The idea, Shinseki explained, is to put transitioning service members "on a vector to that next phase of their lives, as opposed to the uniform coming off and then having them ask the question, 'What am I going to do now?'"

The goal, he said, is to gear transition assistance programs toward providing veterans "a clear set of choices," that both departments can help support.

Shinseki noted other areas where the close DOD-VA partnership already is helping service members and their families and veterans. VA is the insurer for everyone in the military carrying Servicemembers Group Life Insurance. VA administers Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for service members and their families as well as veterans. VA hospitals already provide specialized care to many active-duty patients.

"So the connection is there," Shinseki said. "And I want all service members and their families to understand that we are there for them, and that is our only mission."

The American Heroes COLA Act (H.R. 4142), introduced by DAMA Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Jon Runyan provides for annual cost-of-living adjustments to be made automatically by law each year in the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans.

"With the passage of the America Heroes COLA Act, veterans will never again have to depend on Congressional action to receive an increase to the cost-of-living adjustment they have earned through their service. Instead, these increases will become automatic from year to year just as Social Security benefits increases are adjusted automatically every year," said Runyan.

Also introduced by Rep. Runyan were H.R. 4114, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012 and H.R. 4213, which would require judges of the United States of Appeals for Veterans Claims to reside within 50 miles of the District of Columbia.

"H.R. 4213 will ensure a more efficiently run Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims by requiring judges to fully engage in their caseload and manage their offices by maintaining a household reasonably close to their work location. This will have the desired effect of ensuring veterans receive justice without unneeded delay due to the extended commute of federal judges," stated Rep. Runyan.

Every hour the Storm gets stronger. Our teams are making critical progress in DC this week. We've met with over 100 congressional offices and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. And in record-time we've spearheaded the introduction of two important bills to combat vet unemployment. One will protect the New GI Bill for hundreds of thousands of vets. The other will expand the military's Transition Assistance Program so vets can get career support long after they separate from the service.Can you pitch in to help us push Congress to support these crucial bills? We've got 26 vets in this fight against 12,000 lobbyists. But every dollar you donate to support our teams will be matched by a generous IAVA donor--and push us closer to our goal by midnight Friday.

Storm the Hill 2012 has been a huge success and we're not letting up on Capitol Hill. Today, we're taking our message straight to the White House to meet with the President's team and get buy-in from the Commander-in-Chief.

For the rest of the week and the rest of the year, we will continue to drive up support for our fight against vet unemployment. But we can't keep up the momentum without you.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo., March 28, 2012 - Ralph Gigliotti of the Veterans Affairs Department's Rocky Mountain Network had warned about 400 disabled veterans gathered here for the annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic to expect miracles to unfold in the days ahead.

Jon Engles, who lost his right leg and most of his right arm in a 2000 motorcycle accident, experiences his own personal miracle climbing a rock wall and skiing at the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. DOD photo by Donna Miles(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

"Tomorrow, each of will start chasing your miracles on the mountain," he told the veterans as they prepared to kick off a six-day clinic jam-packed with sporting events designed to push them to new heights and enhance their rehabilitation.

Midway through the clinic, even some of the skeptics say they're experiencing firsthand why the popular event, now in its 26th year, has come to be known as "Miracles on a Mountainside."

Anthony Jeffries admits he resisted coming to his first clinic this year. A Marine Corps veteran rendered a quadriplegic during a 2007 car accident, he said the staff at his VA treatment facility in California "practically beat me with a stick" to get him to participate. "It was the fear of the unknown," he said.

But on the clinic's opening day, Jeffries accomplished something he never dreamed possible, skiing down Snowmass Mountain on adaptive skis. "I don't smile much, but I was smiling a lot then," he said. For Jeffries, the run down the mountain was the springboard to a whole new world of opportunity. Now he's looking forward to the clinic's trapshooting event, which he hopes will be a foray to his longtime love of hunting.

Jeffries' mother, Nancy Barrington, said she's seeing the change in her son since arriving here. "He's starting to open up," she said. "He's seeing that there are still things he can do."

Jeffries agrees. "I figure that if I can ski down a mountain, I can probably do a lot of other things that I thought I would never be able to," he said.

That, Gigliotti said, is exactly what the winter sports clinic is designed to help veterans realize.

Alan Burger, a 50-year-old Navy veteran who lost the use of his legs in a motorcycle accident 30 years ago, experienced his own personal miracle during a clinic-sponsored outing at the T Lazy 7 Ranch in nearby Aspen Highlands. He took the controls of a hulking snowmobile and navigated through the snow-covered trails -- the first time he's driven a vehicle in three decades since his life-altering accident.

"It was awesome!" he exclaimed before climbing back into his wheelchair. "I wanted to go faster!" The freedom was so liberating, he said, that he now plans to apply for his driver's license as soon as he gets home to Kansas City, Kan.

Burger called the experiences at the winter sports clinic "an epiphany for me," and another major step in his road to physical and emotional recovery.

Always in constant pain due to his injury, he had found himself spiraling into substance abuse. But on May 31, he'll celebrate a year of sobriety, and swears, "I'm never going back." Instead, he said he's been focusing on getting himself in shape, putting in three to five miles a day in his wheelchair as part of his exercise and nutrition regimen.

Berger said the clinic has opened his eyes to even greater possibilities. Gone, he said, are the days when he felt he had no choice but to sit on the sidelines watching others enjoy life. "This had made me realize that I can do anything I want to do," he said. "I don't have to be a spectator anymore. I can get out there and live life."

Jon Engles had plenty of spectators cheering him yesterday on as he experienced his own miracle at the winter sports clinic. A former Navy petty officer 3rd class who lost his right leg and most of his right arm in a 2000 motorcycle accident, Engles struggled up a 24-foot rock-climbing wall positioned in the middle of Snowmass Village.

Clinic participants gathered to encourage him as he labored inch by inch up the wall, finally exploding into cheers when he reached the top and rang the bell to announce his accomplishment.

Among those celebrating was Tricia Strombom, Engles' coach from the VA Center in Portland, Ore. "This is huge," she said, an extension of a transformation in Engles she said began on the ski slope the previous day.

"I looked at his eyes, and you could just see the switch flip," she said. "You could see that moment of 'Wow, I can do this. And if I can do this, what else can I do?'"

As he reveled in his achievements, Engles said, it's the support and camaraderie he's found in his fellow disabled veterans that makes them possible.

"I love being with all the veterans," he said. "There's no pretense. It's everyone together, encouraging each other and just about having a good time."

What draws them together, he said, is a common understanding of what each other is experiencing and a common base. "We all served, and come from the same blood," he said.

Jose Lopez called the supportive atmosphere these veterans provide each other a key to his rehabilitation. An Army veteran who was working as a Defense Department civilian sports specialist in Germany when a 2007 motorcycle accident landed him in a wheelchair, Lopez said he initially feared he was destined for a nursing home.

One of his therapists introduced Lopez to adaptive sports a year later, and he quickly began taking advantage of every opportunity offered to him. "It changed my life so much," he said. "I do more things now in a wheelchair than when I was walking."

Thinking about how far he has come, and watching other disabled veterans move forward in their rehabilitation, Lopez said he understands what makes the winter sports clinic the "Miracle on a Mountainside."

"It's everyone together, creating that atmosphere of support," he said. "That's the miracle."

H.R. 2717: To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate one city in the United States each year as an "American World War II City", and for other purposes, introduced by Rep. Mike McIntyre.

H.R. 4213: To amend Title 38, United States Code, to require judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to reside within fifty miles of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, introduced by Rep. Jon Runyan.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building, the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs will hold an oversight hearing entitled, "Reevaluating the Transition from Service Member to Veteran: Honoring a Shared Commitment to Care for Those Who Defend Our Freedom." The Subcommittee will review the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), a program implemented to streamline the Disability Evaluation for wounded, ill, and injured service members.

WHO: Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs

WHAT: "Reevaluating the Transition from Service Member to Veteran: Honoring a Shared Commitment to Care for Those Who Defend Our Freedom."

We're a month away from this workshop on Friday, April 27 between 10 AM – 3 PM — this is a heads-up for veterans in Queens and elsewhere and their spouses. Please mark your calendars! This free event is open to all veterans and spouses ONLY. Please bring veterans ID (VA ID; active military ID, DD214, etc.). Spouse should bring service member's DD214 and proof of marriage. There will be FREE parking in the North garage only of Atlas Park Shopping Mall. The event will be in the former retail space of Border's Book Store, near Chili's restaurant.

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2012 - The United States is well protected against the current threat from limited intercontinental ballistic missile attacks, but the threat is growing, underscoring the need for a robust and flexible defense system, a senior Pentagon official said here yesterday.

Development and deployment of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System protects the United States against the current threats posed by nations such as North Korea and Iran, Madelyn R. Creedon, assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs, said at the 10th Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference.

With 30 ground-based interceptors in place, the United States is well protected against the current threat, she said at the conference, sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

"Maintaining this advantageous position is essential," she added. "As the threat matures -- and it will -- we will continued to improve the GMD system, including enhanced performance by the [interceptors] and the deployment of new sensors."

Creedon outlined the Defense Department's ballistic missile defense plans and priorities as part of the military strategic guidance President Barack Obama issued in January. She detailed U.S. progress in sustaining a strong homeland defense, strengthening regional missile defense, and fostering increased international cooperation.

Obama's fiscal 2013 budget request to Congress includes $9.7 billion -- part of $47.4 billion over five years -- for missile defense. Though the request is down slightly from the current year, Creedon said, it adequately supports the U.S. commitment to both homeland security and regional defense.

The improved ground-based system requires a satellite tracking system, as well as the Standard Missile 3 Block IIA and IIB interceptors. "These efforts will help to ensure that the United States possesses a superior capability to counter projected threats for the foreseeable future," Creedon said.

The United States also is developing a "hedge strategy," Creedon added, to address possible delays in the development of the system or emerging threats. "The United States must be well hedged against the rapid emergence of a threat that undermines the advantage we have today," she said.

Creedon said development of the four-phase system includes:

-- Development of the two-stage ground-based interceptor and completion of 14 silos at Fort Greely, Alaska;

-- Inclusion of funding in the fiscal 2013 budget request to improve the ground-based system with early warning radars, advanced sensors, and improved command and control software, all designed to make the system increasingly more efficient;

-- Deployment of the SM-3 IIB in Europe early in the next decade, providing early interception capabilities from a possible Iranian attack and other emerging threats; and

-- The purchase of five more ground-based interceptors to improve rapid response and allow for testing and spares, as well as "to keep the GBI production line warm."

After a decade of progress in fielding capabilities against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, "the United States is now capable of significantly strengthening the protection of its forces abroad and assisting its allies and partners in providing for their own defense," Creedon said.

The short and medium ballistic missile threat is rapidly expanding in areas where the U.S. military is deployed, and Defense Department officials are reviewing the best ways to address the threat with systems that are mobile, flexible and region-specific, Creedon said. Such regional architectures will augment homeland defense, she added.

The commitment to missile defense is growing among NATO nations, Creedon said, and the United States deployed the first phase of its European-based system with the guided missile cruiser USS Monterey, carrying SM-3 interceptors, in the Mediterranean Sea.

In August, Turkish officials announced they would host a forward-based radar system, and it was deployed in December, Creedon said. And the U.S. Air Operations Center's command and control capabilities at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, now are operational, she said.

In Phase 2, a land-based SM-3 site will be developed in Romania, with Block II interceptors deployed on land and sea, and is expected to be operational in 2015, Creedon said. Spain has agreed to host four U.S. Aegis destroyers in Rota, with the first two ships scheduled to arrive in 2014, she said.

In Phase 3, a second land-based SM-3 site will be deployed to Poland, with SM-3 Block IIA interceptors deployed on land and sea, extending coverage to all NATO European countries.

In Phase 4, the SM-3 IIB will be deployed around 2020, which Creedon called "an important enhancement."

"Iran continues to develop ballistic missiles that are capable of threatening all of NATO [in] Europe," she said. "The capability will eventually enhance the protection of the United States by providing an early shot against an Iranian long-range ICBM headed to the U.S. homeland."

The administration's February 2010 missile defense review outlined these priorities:

-- Defending the homeland against the threat of a limited ballistic missile attack;

-- Defending against regional missile threats to U.S. forces while protecting allies and partners and enabling them to protect themselves;

I must disagree with the President about doing away with our nuclear deterrent. These threats must be met with robust offensive and defensive capabilities. In perfect world we would do away with nuclear weapons but alas we do not live in a perfect world. A nice dream but that's all it is. -- Sean P Eagan

The backlog of soldiers too injured to serve is growing so large that it could affect the Army’s ability to go to war.

Army leaders plan to reduce the size of the service by 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers each year over the next decade, but that’s not counting the 20,500 troops Army doctors have declared unable to serve.

Budget cuts, combined with the end of the Iraq war and drawdown in Afghanistan, have forced the Army to cut end strength by 80,000 soldiers. The 20,500 soldiers tabbed to leave the service because of disabilities, however, still remain on the books.

The backlog is caused by failures in a system built to transition those soldiers out. Quite simply, Army doctors classify more soldiers as too injured to serve than the system can separate each year.

The number of soldiers in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System has grown by 42 percent just this past year. It’s grown from 11,900 soldiers to 20,500 soldiers since 2009. Army medical leaders expect that number to continue to rise. The Defense Department adopted the IDES -- and it will apply each one of the services -- but the Army is in most dire straits.

Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s top manpower officer, described the system to Congress as “fundamentally flawed,” saying, “The biggest area that we need help is in the disability evaluation system.”

“It's long. It's disjointed. We have put money and leadership after this and I'm very concerned that while we're drawing down, this large number of soldiers will remain in the disability evaluation system,” Bostick told the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel panel in early March.

It’s rare to hear military leaders openly criticize a system under their control. But it’s clear their frustration is mounting.

The growing backlog puts the Army’s readiness at risk because the current end strength takes into account the number of injured soldiers getting ready to separate. The Army mans units at 110 percent so they can deploy at 90 percent of their authorized strength, said Col. Daniel Cassidy, the deputy commander of the U.S. Army Physical Disability Agency.

“As the top end gets smaller, it squeezes where the [disability evaluation system population] kind of floats in the margin,” he said.

With end strength shrinking, the Army will not have the cushion to absorb the backlog of soldiers stuck in a disability evaluation system that keeps growing, Cassidy said.

The Army colonel said the Defense Department can only do so much to salvage a system in which rules were laid out by congressional legislation in 1949. “A patchwork of laws and regulations have been put in place,” but it hasn’t been enough, Cassidy said.Read whole article

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs questioned VA officials regarding four major construction projects in Orlando, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, Denver, Colorado, and New Orleans, Louisiana, estimated to cost more than $3 billion, as well as to receive status updates on VA major medical facility leases, which collectively have start up costs of $442 million, across the country.

With extensive problems arising at numerous sites, Committee Members expressed frustration over delays, accountability issues, and potential cost overruns. Of the 55 major medical lease sites currently authorized, only five are open, 38 are behind schedule, and 14 are delayed three or more years.

"As the VA health care system has grown, it appears that we have come to a point in the Department's major construction and lease program where the administrative structure in VA is an obstacle that is not effectively supporting the mission," stated Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "As a result, our veterans are the ones who are left without services, and our taxpayers are the ones left holding the check."

The Orlando VA Medical Center was a main topic of discussion at today's hearing. The project which is now expected to double its original cost estimates and has been delayed more than two years – the facility is not expected to open until fall 2013 – has faced numerous, costly issues including oversight, design, and significant changes.

"Clearly there are problems with the design, procurement of specific medical equipment, change orders, and how they all fit together," Miller noted, "not to mention the lack of accountability and oversight within VA to address these systemic problems."

VA officials admitted that the ultimate responsibility for the problems at VA construction sites around the country lay with VA.

"We cannot and must not allow the problems in Orlando, or elsewhere, to persist," stated Miller. "It is vital that reputable, long-standing companies want to work with VA on these significant flagship projects that are so important to the delivery of care."

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo., March 26, 2012 - Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki opened the 26th annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic here last night, challenging more than 400 participants to draw on the qualities they demonstrated in uniform to live life to its fullest.

"The physical effort, sheer determination, courage and self-confidence that characterized your service in uniform came from deep within you," the former Army chief of staff told the group, which includes nine active-duty service members and 94 veterans of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Well, those are the very attributes that will carry you through this week here in Colorado," he said. "And more importantly, it is what will get you back into living life."

The winter sports clinic, jointly sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Disabled American Veterans, uses recreation as a rehabilitative tool for veterans with disabilities ranging from spinal cord injuries and orthopedic amputations to visual impairment and neurological conditions.

As the veterans learn adaptive Alpine and Nordic skiing and get introduced to rock climbing, scuba diving, trapshooting, wheelchair fencing, sled hockey, snowmobiling, and sled hockey during a six-day program, many discover a whole new world of opportunity.

"Here on the mountain, you are going to do things you never thought possible," Shinseki told the participants. "This week is about much more than learning to use adaptive skis or snowboards or learning to play sled hockey. It is not about conquering this mountain. ... It is about conquering ourselves," he said, quoting Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to scale Mount Everest.

Shinseki, a disabled veteran who lost part of his right foot in Vietnam, praised the strides the veterans have made in their recuperation and urged them to continue striving to live life to its fullest.

"You may have been injured, but life isn't over. There is still a lot of living to do for all of us," he said. "It will be different, no doubt. And you are going to have to work hard to improve functionality. But that is the challenge and the triumph, every day: to keep on living while you are living."

Donald Samuels, national commander for the Disabled American Veterans and a first-timer at the clinic, recognized the challenge participants will face as they face "a lot of unknowns" in a new setting.

"You have all faced down challenges in your service to our country, and I am urging you to rekindle your fighting spirit and do the same with the hurdles you may face here this week," he said.

As they do so, Samuels reminded them, they'll have their fellow veterans encouraging them and giving them the boost they may need to succeed.

"Let this week be about you and your own personal goals and ambitions," he said. "Make it part of your healing process to revitalize your fighting spirit, your strength and your own independence. This time and this place is all about the incredible things you can accomplish."

This year's clinic includes 135 other first-time participants.Among them is former Marine Corps Sgt. Arthur Lee, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in Afghanistan in 2003 after the vehicle in front of his hit an improvised explosive device so powerful that it flipped Lee's 5-ton truck over.

After two years of prodding by his caregivers at the VA hospital in Augusta, Ga., Lee relented, and already is fired up about the reception he and the other veterans here have received here.

"It's enormous," he said, sitting in Snowmass Village enjoying the opening-day "Taste of Snowmass" feast hosted by local restaurants to welcome the veterans. "I can tell this is going to be a good experience."

Shinseki paid tribute during the opening ceremonies to the corporate sponsors, donors and some 1,000 volunteers who make the clinic a success.

Nobody had to twist Nick Infanti's arm to get him to his first winter sports clinic.

A former Marine who suffered a traumatic brain injury two years ago during an IED attack in Afghanistan's Helmand province, he was looking forward to putting his snowboarding skills to the test on Snowmass Mountain.

"I came here for the experience. They say this is pretty exciting," he said, and he rattled off the list of other activities he plans to try: snowmobiling, scuba diving and marksmanship, among them.

Former Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Woods, another first-timer, shared Infanti's excitement about an action-packed week. Woods served as an operations specialist from 2001 to 2005, but left the Navy with multiple sclerosis and balance issues that force him to use a walker or wheelchair to maneuver.

But over the next week, Woods said, his physical challenges will be the last thing on his mind as he skis, snowmobiles, tries out kayaking and visits the hot springs.

"This breathes life into you to keep you going and keep you motivated," he said. "Just because you have a disability doesn't mean life is over.... And if there's one thing you can say about me, it's that I do not give up."

About Me

Veterans Advocate and Past Chairman of American Cold War Veterans. Veteran of
the US Army 1989-1991. Served overseas in Southwest Asia for 17 months with the
528th USAAG during the Gulf War. 100 percent Service Connected Disabled Veteran also a member of VFW Dept NY Post 53 , NY Post 001 American Legion, DAV Robert P Illig Post #47.

About Me

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